The Englishman carded an opening five under par round of 66 to sit atop the leaderboard at Royal County Down, one stroke clear of Finland’s Sami Välimäki and Spaniard Alejandro del Rey, with four-time Major Champion Rory McIlroy a stroke further back in a tie for fourth.

.@golfclements leads the way after round at Royal County Down #AmgenIrishOpen

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 12, 2024

The former MENA Tour player, Clements, who won his maiden DP World Tour title at the D+D REAL Czech Masters last year made a blistering start in Northern Ireland, birdieing two of the first three after starting from the tenth before picking up two further shots with an eagle at the par five 18th.

Clements made the turn and birdied the tricky par five first, but Royal County Down bit back as he dropped shots at the second and fourth to drop into the bunched leaderboard in the third event of the Back 9 on the DP World Tour’s Global Schedule.

Not to be deterred, however, Clements fought back and finished with aplomb, with back-to-back birdies at the eighth and ninth earning him the advantage after the opening round on the spectacular links.

“I said that to my caddie walking off, “That’s one of the best rounds I’ve played in my life so far.” It’s a hard course and yeah, delighted how it panned out,” said the 2022 Challenge Tour graduate.

“For me, I drove it great. I hit a lot of good quality shots, and just kind of hit my ball in the right spaces. My caddie was great today, and you know, he had the course mapped out great and it worked well.

“This course is as hard as it gets. Take it day-by-day; cliché. But tomorrow it’s going to be cold; it’s going to be windy and another gruelling test. Sad as it is to say, I’m probably looking forward to it.”

What a golf shot, Rory #AmgenIrishOpen pic.twitter.com/qeGx4uiS10

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 12, 2024

County Down native McIlroy gave the home crowds something to cheer with an impressive birdie-birdie-birdie finish to join the five-strong pack in a tie for fourth place, along with English duo Marcus Armitage and Will Enefer, South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence and Italian Filippo Celli.

The fundraising efforts for Make-A-Wish Ireland got off to a strong start on the opening day, with 73 birdies or better on the first hole resulting in £29,200 being donated by Amgen and the DP World Tour.

Amgen ambassadors Pádraig Harrington, Shane Lowry and Séamus Power carded six birdies and eagles between them, raising £2,400 after pledging to donate £400 for each time they take a shot from the course this week.

Main Image: Getty Images

The post Former MENA Tour player, Todd Clements, leads Amgen Irish Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 24-year-old Rayhan (70-67-69-68), who was placed one off the lead in tied second place ahead of the final round, totalled 14-under 274 for the week to prevail by one shot and create history by becoming only the second player to win in his first appearance on the PGTI. Thai golfer Pariya Junhasavasdikul was the first player to achieve the feat when he won the year-end Tour Championship in 2016 on his PGTI debut.

Read more on Rayhan turning pro

Gurugram’s Manu Gandas (71-65-72-67) took second place at 13-under 275 as a result of his last round of 67. Manu thus climbed four spots from his overnight tied sixth.

Chandigarh’s Akshay Sharma (69-65-71-71), who was the leader by one shot after round three, carded a 71 on Saturday to finish third at 12-under 276.

Rayhan Thomas is beaming with his first trophy on the PGTI! Snaphots from the presentation ceremony of the KGiSL Presents Coimbatore Open 2024 Powered by Prima Donna, graced by a panel of dignitaries: pic.twitter.com/AzRhG5XG9s

— PGTI (@pgtofindia) August 17, 2024

Rayhan Thomas, playing at Coimbatore for the first time, was two-under through the front-nine after he made three birdies and a bogey that kept him in the race. Rayhan, who won twice on the MENA Tour while still an amateur and also represented India in many prestigious events such as the 2018 Asian Games, sank a couple of long birdies on the front-nine.

Thomas, excelling in all departments of his game through the week, stormed into the lead and became top contender when he collected birdies on the 13th, 15th and 16th. Rayhan, who turned pro in May this year, had a few anxious moments on the 17th where his ball was plugged in the bunker. He played it over the green from there but got away with a bogey on that hole thanks to a great chip and putt that helped him hold on to his lead.

Watch Rayhan Thomas seal his world and course record-equalling MENA Tour round at Dubai Creek

The professional from the Dubai Creek Golf Club, who has his roots in Kerala, finally sealed it with a par on the 18th after finding the green in two shots and making a comfortable two-putt.

Rayhan, emerging champion in only his fourth professional appearance, said, “After sinking that final putt, I just wanted to hug my Uncle (Maj. Thomas), who was caddying for me. He had been there for me all week and that meant a lot to me.

“It was a really good round today, in fact my best of the week. I had a little scare on the 17th but then did well to salvage the situation by playing a quality chip on that hole to stay ahead and then producing a couple of good shots on the last hole. The pressure was off when I knew I could make a two-putt to win on the 18th.

A man for the big stage! With a score of 4-under 68 on the final day, Rayhan Thomas didn't let the conditions deter him as he clinched the KGiSL Presents Coimbatore Open 2024 Powered by Prima Donna in style! pic.twitter.com/svpSZ9A6PN

— PGTI (@pgtofindia) August 17, 2024

“I feel playing college golf in the United States helped me prepare well for the professional level. You experience a lot of pressure in US college golf because playing for a team your score means a lot more. Growing up in Dubai has also helped a lot as I’ve had access to some of the best golfing facilities there. Coming back to my home country India completes the cycle for me.

“My grit and patience stood out for me this week. There were a lot of birdie chances out there so it was easy to get complacent when you don’t get a birdie. But I was happy with how I stayed patient and kept it going. I really enjoyed my first outing at the Coimbatore Golf Club. It’s a magnificent venue.”

Images: PGTI

The post Rayhan Thomas seals first professional win appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

They will join defending Race to Dubai Champion Rory McIlroy in the field at Yas Links for the fourth Rolex Series event of the season after booking their places in the penultimate event with impressive performances during the month of July.

Forming part of the new DP World Tour Play-Offs, the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship will welcome the top 70 available players from the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex at the conclusion of the ‘Back 9’. The top 50 players at the end of the week will then advance to the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, where the Race to Dubai Champion will be crowned.

2023 BMW International Open – Stuart Franklin/Getty Images

MacIntyre and Lawrence are some of the DP World Tour’s brightest talents having both won the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Award and amassing seven victories on Tour between them, while also both have tasted prior success already in the region on the MENA Tour earlier in their careers.

MacIntyre, who was a member of Europe’s Ryder Cup winning side last year, claimed the first Rolex Series victory of his career on home soil, holding off a world-class field at Renaissance Club to win the Genesis Scottish Open by one stroke. Victory in the co-sanctioned event also gave him his second PGA TOUR title of 2024 after winning the RBC Canadian Open in June, and he currently sits a career-high 16th on the Official World Golf Ranking.

MacIntyre is flanked by Yousef Abdulaziz Al Qatami and Wael Abdulrahman Al Welayti, both members of the Sahara Kuwait’s golf advisory committee, at the prize giving of the 2017 Sahara Kuwait Championship on the MENA Tour

“I’m looking forward to ending my season in the Middle East again,” said MacIntyre, who will be making his fourth consecutive appearance in Abu Dhabi. “I’ve played well in the UAE in the past and I’d love to be in the mix on Sunday and try to get my hands on that famous trophy.”

The Scotsman was the recipient of the Rookie of the Year Trophy in 2019 and currently sits third on the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex.

Thriston Lawrence back in 2015 as winner of the Ras Al Khaimah Classic with Shaikh Faisal bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Darren Clarke, and Mohamed Juma Buamaim, chairman of the MENA Tour.

Lawrence has enjoyed a consistent 2024 Race to Dubai, with three runner-up finishes to his name, and he recorded the best Major Championship performance of his career to date after finishing fourth at The 152nd Open.

The South African won the Rookie of the Year Award in 2022 after recording two victories in his debut season. He has since won twice more, most recently at the 2023 BMW International Open, his fourth DP World Tour victory.

“I’m excited to return to the Middle East to finish the year,” said Lawrence. “I also have some unfinished business with the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship after I had to pull out of last year’s event due to injury.

“It’s a region I have always enjoyed playing in. I like Yas Links and I’m hoping to build on the form I’ve showed this year and finish my season strong.”

The post Robert MacIntyre and Thriston Lawrence set for Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Dubai-based Joe Heraty has already tasted success on the golfing scene recently — and now he is targeting bigger things.

The Englishman made history as he claimed the win in the first-ever Mena Tour event held on Malaysian soil earlier this month — and now he has set his sights on the upcoming ‘home’ Challenge Tour double-header in Abu Dhabi.

Heraty went into the final day at the The Els Club Desaru Coast Mena event with a one-stroke lead and turned on the style to close out a nine-under, three-stroke victory over Malaysian Paul San and Italian Arron Zemmer.

Next up is the two events back-to-back in the UAE, the Abu Dhabi Challenge at Abu Dhabi Golf Club (April 27-30) and the UAE Challenge at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club (May 4-7), and Heraty goes into the Challenge Tour fortnight in Abu Dhabi with a renewed sense of confidence and ambition.

“I used to live in Abu Dhabi and cut my teeth here as a player assistant at Abu Dhabi Golf Club on an internship many years ago and it is great to be back on home soil for the Challenge Tour events,” Heraty told Golf Digest Middle East.

“I don’t actually have a status on the Challenge Tour and I will be competing on an invitation from Emirates Golf Federation and representing my Dubai club, the Montgomerie.

“But I am coming in with great confidence after my win in Malaysia on the Mena Tour and have played many Asian Tour events.

“My goals are to gain full status on the Asian Tour and possibly go for my DP World Tour card through Q-School and get my world ranking [currently 1,186] down.”

While Heraty turned professional seven years ago, this is something of a new beginning for the 31-year-old as he is starting out again after an extended break due to Covid.

“I moved back to the UAE, this time Dubai, from England last August and I am getting back into things again,” he explained. “I had something like a three-year break and I was actually caddieing on the DP World Tour and on the Ladies European Tour. Then I thought, I’m ready to play again, and got back out there, and it has gone from strength to strength. My win in Malaysia shows I can still compete and I have been given a lot of support.

 

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A post shared by Joe Heraty (@joeheraty)

“I have kept quite calm. I said to the guys I was rooming with before the final round in Malaysia that I wasn’t nervous, and I put in a great round. I went into the final day with a one-stroke lead and, while there weren’t any leaderboards on the course — you had to just focus on your own game — I kept tabs on those closest to me and knew towards the end I could get over the line.”

Heraty has tasted success in the Middle East before, winning the inaugural Sahara Kuwait Championship in 2016, but the golfing scene in Asia and the Middle East is much changed now from when Heraty took his break, with massive investment in the game from Golf Saudi raising the Asian Tour off its knees to elite level, with much-improved purses on offer and bigger, better global destinations on the schedule.

“My game is much more suited to Asia and the Middle East than Europe so I love playing out here,” he said. “It is great what LIV Golf Investments have done with their investments. The standard of courses has got higher, the fields are stronger and the prizes are bigger. The Asian region as a whole has been massively boosted over the past 12 months or so.

“To get my full card on the Asian Tour would be brilliant so I can compete in all the events and get to play in all the destinations now on offer.”

The post Heraty sets sights on new Challenge at ‘home’ as double-header comes to Abu Dhabi appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Four-event ‘Beautiful Thailand Swing’ takes place in May in Phuket after Covid-enforced hiatus

By GolfDigestME.com
After 25 challenging months and a pair of unavoidable false starts, the MENA Tour is back with a brighter than ever outlook.

The Middle East and North Africa developmental circuit will return to post-pandemic action via a four-event ‘Beautiful Thailand Swing’ next month with each of the 54-hole, US$75,000 tournaments to be co-sanctioned by the Asian Development Tour (ADT).

The Laguna Phuket Challenge (May 3-5), Laguna Phuket Cup (May 8-10), Blue Canyon Classic (May 13-15) and Blue Canyon Open will conclude the MENA Tour’s now rejigged 2020+ ‘Journey to Jordan’ season which will eventually span nine events, six countries and more than two years.

Incentives are available to MENA Tour members who tee it up in Phuket, chief among them an invite to one of the Asian Tour’s 10 new marquee US$1.5 million-plus International Series events in 2022.

That opportunity will be awarded to the overall Journey to Jordan Order-of-Merit champion at the completion of the Blue Canyon Open, the ninth and final event of the season. The top 10 available Oder of Merit players will also earn invites to the next two ADT events, after which the ADT will conduct its own re-ranking — meaning potential promotion to the main Asian Tour. In addition, the top 10 players in the Journey to Jordan rankings will also be exempted to the final stage of Asian Tour Q-School for the 2023 Asian Tour season.

Co-hosted by Laguna Golf Phuket and Blue Canyon Country Club, the Beautiful Thailand Swing is the first tangible outcome of the strategic alliance announced by the Asian and MENA Tours in December. A full merger of the MENA Tour and ADT is mooted from 2023.

Blue Canyon Country Club

MENA Tour Commissioner David Spencer said the Beautiful Thailand Swing incentives, especially when coupled with impending changes to the Official World Golf Rankings, underline the importance of the alliance with the Asian Tour.

“The OWGR changes [which come into effect in August] are particularly important to development tours because there will be no minimum OWGR points awarded to any tour. This will make pathways to the top tier tours more difficult for players in the lower positions on the OWGR,” said Spencer.

“We believe that the new OWGR regulations are fair but we are also very cognisant of how a player progresses. This vital progression very simply boils down to playing opportunities on OWGR tours and once we were made aware of the new OWGR regulations, we felt compelled to further align ourselves with one of the top tier tours.”

A MENA Tour player could conceivably tee it up in Phuket, secure an International Series start and eventually find themselves playing in one of the eight new $25 million prize purse LIV Golf Invitational Series events, the recently announced Saudi-backed league fronted by Greg Norman.

“We will continue to work more closely with the Asian Tour as there is absolutely no doubt that our combined vision will provide players with the clearest and most defined development pathway in the world of professional golf outside of the USA,” said Spencer.

Ryan Lumsden won the last MENA Tour event, the Journey to Jordan 2 Championship held at Ayla Golf Club in Aqaba in early March, 2020. The $13,500 pay day propelled the Scottish professional up to third in the 2020+ Journey to Jordan standings behind a pair of Englishmen, David Langley and David Hague.

Attempts were twice made to restart the circuit in a bio-secure bubble at Ayla Oasis, the MENA Tour’s destination partner. However, on-going travel restrictions made a resumption impossible until now.

To further assist players starved of playing opportunities since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the MENA Tour has dramatically reduced entry fees to $50 for each of the four Beautiful Thailand Swing events. The Phuket swing has also been confined to a compact three-week window to help players contain costs.

2022 and Beyond

Spencer has also outlined plans for the 2022 MENA Tour season with an initial October-December schedule featuring a “strong focus in the MENA region” to be released in due course.

All current MENA Tour members will be automatically eligible to re-join the tour for the 2022 season with the OWGR confirming traditional Q-School requirements have been waived this year due to the impacts of COVID-19.

“Obviously, the world is a different place since the pandemic began and we have had to try and figure out how to best adapt and pivot the MENA Tour,” Spencer said.

“At times we know this has been frustrating but I know all our members will be buoyed by the fact we have always been working to try and improve the tour we created back in 2011.”

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The post MENA Tour returns to action in Thailand alongside Asian Development Tour appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 35-year-old MENA Tour regular visited Riyadh’s Tarbiyah Namouthajiyah School in December with the Saudi International trophy and turned teacher as part of Golf Saudi’s push to introduce children to the game. Other star players will tag in at other schools in the countdown to the Asian Tour’s new $5 million flagship event from Feb. 3-6.

“I hope to see a new generation of both male and female golfers representing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia across the globe,” said Almulla who led SNAG (‘Starting New At Golf’) lessons.

“We had a great opportunity today to share insights about golf, and particularly the important role that the Saudi International plays in promoting the sport in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This is just the first step in many big steps coming to tell the community about the sport that I love.

“I think the sport of golf is unique because it gives you an experience to test yourself every day. It teaches you patience, perseverance in tough conditions and resilience. While most sports do that as well, the tests that you see on the course are very similar to the ones these students have to get past in life.”

The innovative and globally accepted SNAG certification programme includes all the basics of golf, helping beginners build skills. It can be played both indoors and outdoors, ensuring anyone can learn, play, and teach golf – alongside the sport’s core values.  

Golf Saudi is spearheading one of the world’s most progressive golf development strategies, with its Mass Participation programme forming the cornerstone of this strategy. The programme remains a top priority for the organisation as it seeks to attract and inspire the next generation of Saudis to take up the game and develop future homegrown champions. Ahead of 2025, Golf Saudi has targeted the creation of 2,200 jobs and developing approximately 29,000 new golfers.

“Our goal is always to bring golf to as many Saudis as possible,” said Golf Saudi CEO Majed Al Sorour.

“We want to give young people an opportunity to develop skills and highlight golf’s unique values that can aid their development – both in future careers and their everyday lives. Excitement is building towards our biggest ever Saudi International that will continue to impact the golfing landscape here and inspire more nationals than ever to engage in this amazing sport.”

The post Golf Saudi target schools in dual mission to grow game and raise awareness of Saudi International appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Based on a collective desire to consolidate their respective platforms, this new alliance will see the Asian Tour’s popular tier-two circuit, the Asian Development Tour (ADT), align with the MENA Tour ‒ with the ultimate goal of merging in 2023.

Next year will be a season of transition with the intention to stage a number of ADT and MENA Tour co-sanctioned tournaments before the end of Q2, which will provide equal playing opportunities to both sets of Members.

And, in 2023 the ADT and MENA Tour will then unify to become a single and formidable platform from which players can graduate to the main Tour. Competitors will be able to access the new development tour through the Asian Tour Qualifying School.

“We want to create an amplified pan-Asian development pathway by 2023 feeding directly into the Asian Tour,” said Cho Minn Thant, Commissioner & CEO, Asian Tour.

“The Asian Development Tour has always been an intrinsic part of our ecosystem and this new partnership with our friends at the MENA Tour is a forward-thinking statement of intent to build a combined property for the betterment of professional golf across the length and breadth of our region.”

Earlier in the year both Tours announced plans to increase dialogue on ways of working together but as tournament golf in the region has slowly started to return, they felt the time was right to accelerate their co-operative plans.

“This is the most significant development for the MENA Tour since its inception in 2011,” said David Spencer, Commissioner, MENA Tour.

“As the only Official World Golf Ranking Tour based in the Middle East our goal has always been to encourage, identify and nurture talent from all corners of the world to experience golf in the region which we are so proud of. We have worked closely with the Asian Tour, Cho Minn Thant and his team to create an alliance that underpins a unique and strong pathway for our members. We are intensely proud of our new alliance with the Asian Tour, and I look forward to seeing it flourish over the coming years.”

The Asian Development Tour is hoping to stage 10-12 events in 2022 ‒ an important number of these with the MENA Tour. Dialogue and strategic planning will now continue at pace with the objective to optimise opportunities for all players and where possible try to minimise the amount of travel between tournaments to make it cost-effective and safer for competitors.

The Asian Tour restarted last month with back-to-back events in Phuket which saw invitations to MENA Tour members at the Blue Canyon Phuket Championship and Laguna Phuket Championship.

Further invitations have been extended to MENA Tour members for next month’s The Singapore International ‒ the penultimate event of the 2020-21 season.

The post Asian Tour and MENA Tour form strategic partnership with aim of full merger in 2023 appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

It was a fittingly dramatic finish to the second edition of the WAGR-sanctioned event but not half as clutch as the wild par the 17-year-old conjured up on Thursday to capture the 54-hole title for a second time in three years and book his return to the $8 million DP World Tour event next month.

It was all tied up at -9 with Denmark’s Frederick Birkelund heading down the last at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club when Hill’s title hopes seemed lost courtesy of a tugged drive left that his father Russell described as “…so wide and dead”.

And then the Trump International Golf Club, Dubai member produced this miraculous recovery shot from the desert. Check. It. Out. (we suggest going to full-screen mode and urge you to wait for the ball to emerge, seemingly from thin air) :

 

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A post shared by Russell Hill (@golf_osteo_path_dxb)

Anyone who has ever played golf in the UAE knows how difficult shots are from wasteland, much less from the particularly gnarly lie that confronted Hill. And don’t forget all that wetness beyond that demanded absolute pin-point accuracy. Russell Hill provided a proud father commentary on his Instagram feed.

“Josh hit one of the most incredible golf shots I have ever seen today, SEVE Would have been proud of it himself,” Hill Snr wrote.

“Was tied for the lead going up the last hole, from the tee he left himself so wide and dead, he was in the desert behind a grass lump had about 25 yards to clear, of desert, cart path and rough and he had to land it in the fringe on a knuckle. If it landed left side it would have gone 15 yards away from the hole, to far right it would have kicked into the water and if to long it could have been wet… he landed it in a foot window and it rolled past the hole to eight foot, absolutely friggin stunning! It was so clutch it won him the title!”

Indeed, while Birkelund bogeyed, Hill two-putted for par to sign for a closing 72 to go with earlier rounds of 66-69 and a championship-winning 207 aggregate. His -9 total edged the Dane by a stroke with India’s Yash Majmudar third on 210 while Dubai-based Welsh international Toby Bishop and Victor Svendsen (DEN) finished T-4 a shot further back.

The victory sets up a third DP World Tour (formerly European Tour) start for Hill who will rub shoulders with the likes of Collin Morikawa and Rory McIlroy at the 17th Abu Dhabi Championship, a Rolex Series event to be hosted by Yas Links Abu Dhabi for the first time from Jan.20-23.

Hill has coincidently finished T-117 in both his previous DP World Tour starts, carding rounds of 74-76 around Abu Dhabi Golf Club’s National layout in 2020, a week before a pair of 77s also saw him miss the cut at the Dubai Desert Classic. He earned the invite to ‘Major of the Middle East’ after topping the MENA Tour’s amateur Journey to Jordan OOM title during a stellar 2019. Hill became the youngest winner of an Official World Golf Ranking event that season when he captured the MENA Tour’s Al Ain Open and has since gone on to gain selection to the senior England amateur team for the coveted Home Internationals.

The post With ‘Seve’-Esque par from ‘dead’ lie, Josh Hill is the epitome of clutch and on his way back to the DP World Tour appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joy Chakravarty
Freshly-minted Hero World Challenge champion Viktor Hovland has given a glowing appraisal of Dubai-based amateur Rayhan Thomas.

The 24-year-old Hovland is an Oklahoma State University alumnus and remains a regular at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, the home base of the OSU Cowboys, even two years after turning pro. The Norwegian, who climbed to world No.7 following his win in the Bahamas, also has his residence there.

Thomas, who became the first amateur to win on the MENA Tour (2016 Dubai Creek Open) and was tied second at the 2018 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, joined OSU in 2019. But he struggled with his swing for more than a year and spent most of his time in the driving range and sidelines watching his teammates continue to add to the legacy of such stars as Hovland and Matthew Wolff.

RELATED: Dubai prodigy Rayhan Thomas reveals ‘mental and physical’ toll of his return from rock bottom

In his quest to get back his swing, the 21-year-old decided not to come home to Dubai in the summer of 2021, playing tournaments and putting in the reps in the US. He played several rounds with Hovland over the period, feeding on the experience of the three-time PGA Tour champion, and forging a strong bond with the Norwegian.

The move is now paying dividends as Thomas has had several encouraging outings in the past couple of months. He played a key role in OSU finishing second at the season-ending East Lake Cup and was second in his last individual event – the Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate. Having dropped down close to 2,000th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, his recent form has helped him climb to No. 951.

Thomas believes his best in college golf is yet to come, and from what he has seen, Hovland has complete faith in the Indian.

Photo by Joy Chakravarty.

“I think he is having a good year, and I think he has a really good future,” said Hovland speaking exclusively to Golf Digest Middle East during the Hero World Challenge in Bahamas.

“He is such a fun guy to be around and he has got a very good head on his shoulders. He is still very young, but speaks very eloquently and thinks about everything that he does. He goes about his business with purpose, and he is pretty smart.

“You know, he struggled a little bit early in his first year in college, but it was really nice to see him kind of get into a rhythm and start playing well at the end of this year.

“I think he is pretty motivated too. He keeps working hard and I see no reason why he should not have a great year.”

Having spent his years with coach Alan Bratton and his team at one of the most successful college golf programmes, Hovland says he completely understands what Thomas has gone through in the first couple of years.

“He is not the only player at Oklahoma State to have struggled. Karsten Creek is a tough place. It is one of the most prestigious golf programmes in the State. There are a lot of things that put pressure on you. When you are part of such a team, you just want to play well so badly. And there are times when it just doesn’t work out. We have had a lot of success, but unfortunately, we also have a lot of experience of players struggling as well,” explained Hovland.

“But then again, our struggles help us kind of know more about ourselves. It’s all about the team telling him the right things and making him comfortable, making him relaxed. He is very well-liked by Coach Bratton and he is working on good things, and eventually, his game is gonna turn around.”

Thomas had earlier told Golf Digest Middle East that Hovland had become a mentor for him and he seeks a lot of advice from the PGA Tour star.

“Yeah…that’s one thing I like about him. He keeps asking questions. We speak a lot, but it’s not like just golf stuff. Swing advice is probably not the best advice I can give, but it’s things like asking about how life on tour is, how do you think mentally in a certain situation. The small things. He seems like he listens and asks more questions. And that’s good,” said Hovland.

Thomas is back in Duba for his winter break.

The post Viktor Hovland backs fellow OSU Cowboy Rayhan Thomas to have ‘great year’ in 2022 appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
Golf’s worst-kept secret has finally been confirmed, at least partially, with Greg Norman formally linked to a Saudi investment fund with still largely guarded but seemingly well-advanced plans to revolutionise the pro game worldwide.

Norman was unveiled on Friday as the CEO of LIV Golf Investments in a media release promising a series of “momentous developments” in the wake of the company’s formation.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds which came into sharp focus with its recent acquisition of English Premier League club Newcastle United, is the majority shareholder in the new company.

While there was no reference to the rival circuit that Norman has long been linked to, sources have confirmed to Golf Digest Middle East that the former world No.1 and World Golf Hall of Famer will also be Commissioner of a pioneering league with bold and global ambitions.

Rory McIlroy rebuffed Saudi overtures with a “For me, I’m out,” quote in Feb. 2020.
(Photo: Christian Petersen)

Whether there is enough commercial gravitas and emotional hooks in the plans to change the mind of Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and/or Brooks Koepka – all of whom have previously rebuffed Saudi overtures – remains to be seen. But sources understand the league will go ahead regardless with Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott, Henrik Stenson, Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler, Paul Casey and Koepka previously linked to formal offer letters worth “hundreds of millions of dollars”. Be sure that Liv Golf Investments firming plans will have further heightened blood pressures at the PGA and European Tours HQs and undoubtedly further roused their respective legal eagles.

Sources have also linked the stagnant Asian Tour to the still highly secretive league, no great stretch given the circuit was confirmed on Friday as the first major benefactor of the Saudi cash injection.

The retort to Friday’s announcement from PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan and European Tour counterpart Keith Pelley will be fascinating.
(Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)

A series of 10 “marquee” events will be bolted onto the Asian Tour schedule from 2022 courtesy of a 10-year, $200 million investment from the Liv Golf Investments. The new events will be broadcast globally in an effort to “stabilise” the professional game in the Asia-Pacific region and “unlock” the region’s “untapped potential”.

RELATED: The Asian and MENA Tours are planning a joint development circuit to rival PGA Tour’s Korn Ferry feeder

“This is only the beginning,” Norman said in the statement before an attempt to position the company’s formation as no threat to golf’s traditional stakeholders.

“LIV Golf Investments has secured a major capital commitment that will be used to create additive new opportunities across worldwide professional golf,” Norman continued.“We will be a cooperative and respectful supporter of the game at every level, and today’s announcement alongside the Asian Tour is the first example of that.”

“We will be a cooperative and respectful supporter of the game at every level.” – Greg Norman.

There has been widespread speculation that the now-named Saudi investors might purchase the Asian Tour outright but Golf Digest Middle East understands that total acquisition was never on the table and that Liv Golf Investments will seek only to position themselves as promoters of the 10 events. While further detail is to come via the Asian Tour, simple math points to a series of 10, $2 million events annually, a boon for a tour Norman regularly graced throughout his career and now describes as a “sleeping giant” of the global game. Before the pandemic stalled the Asian Tour in March 2020, there was only one tournament dating back to 2019 with a prize purse north of $1.75m– the $3 million Maybank Championship in Malaysia.

“I have been a staunch supporter and believer in playing and developing golf in Asia for more than four decades. The Asian Tour is a sleeping giant and we share ambition to grow the series and unlock what we believe is significant untapped potential,” the Australian said.

“We see our promotion of these new events as a vital first step in supporting emerging markets, creating a new platform, rich with playing opportunities that create valuable player pathways.”

Dustin Johnson has won two of the thus far three Saudi International events in KAEC near Jeddah. The event has switched from the European Tour to become the Asian Tour’s new “flagship” season-opener in 2022.

The exciting news for Middle East fans is that the region will host at least one of the new Asia Tour events. Surprisingly, it won’t be the Saudi International which was announced as the Asia Tour’s flagship event and 2022 season-opener with a $5 million purse last month. That landmark 10-year deal with Golf Saudi is separate from the 10 new “marquee” events although the Saudi International will embrace the same open eligibility category, one that will ignore tour affiliation so that “opportunities are available to the broadest cross-section of players.”

RELATED: Saudi International aligns with Asian Tour in seismic 10-year deal

Tournaments in Asia and Europe are also promised among the 10 new events which will count towards the overall Asian Tour order of merit.  They will be weaved into new 25-event schedule to bolster a “backbone” of already established events. It is understood the new schedule will represent a record-breaking combined prize-fund in 2022.

Friday’s media release said further detail, “including a reveal of the brand and series name” would follow in the “near future”.

“This is the single biggest development in the history of the Asian Tour and a major milestone for professional golf,” said Cho Minn Thant, the Asian Tour’s Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer.

“The opportunity will secure unprecedented new playing opportunities, establish new player pathways, allow us to compete commercially with other sports, and enhance our social agenda.

Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour/Asian Tour via Getty Image
Asian Tour chief Cho Minn Thant

“We are particularly excited at the prospect today’s landmark announcement brings to the amateur game, providing new inspiration to aspiring players through a new level of top-flight professional competition in the region.”

The Asian Tour’s suspended 2020/21 season will be reignited in Thailand in November and December with the staging to of two tournaments, before two additional events in Singapore scheduled for January.

Friday’s media release also said LIV Golf Investments “has been established with group companies in the USA, UK, with Asian offices to follow. Several high-profile C-Suite executives have already been appointed, with further announcements to follow in due course.”

“I am pleased that the investor base is 100 percent commercially driven by the opportunity to improve golf for all involved. I am happy to partner with this group of investors to bring the significant resources to bear that are necessary for the fundamental changes required for the greater good of the sport,” Norman said.

“Plans are in place to introduce further investment partners, who share the passion and belief in how new opportunities in professional golf can create widespread benefit for fans and players.”

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